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Friday, June 10, 2011

Tomato, Squash & Feta Gratin

Hello folks! Let me introduce you to my new favorite vegetable side dish....courtesy of the Costco Connection. I have SO many summer vegetable gratin recipes. And for some reason, I never made a one. Not today. Today was not the day that I would shirk away from a dreamy vegetarian, eye-popping recipe. This took about 15 minutes to assemble. The dish requires few ingredients and yes, it's worth turning on your oven for this one once the sun goes down. This side dish is truly wonderful--a little cheese goes a long way and I'm mighty disappointed I didn't make two pans of this gratin. Serve it with a rice pilaf and grilled meat. I was thinking it would also go well with some roast chicken (or Worthington multigrain cutlets) and mashed potatoes.

And speaking of Sonoma...did I mention how in love with it I am? Below is a (tiny) picture my husband took from a trip back a few years ago while we were at the wonderful Chateau St. Jean winery--an exquistely beautiful and peaceful place (just couldn't get the picture to stretch with my blog format).

So, while we can't exactly go back to Sonoma for a while....I will enjoy its food. Hope you will too!

Lay zucchini slices in pan slightly overlapping like shingles. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Top with a layer of tomatoes slightly overlapping. Sprinkle on half of the scallion mix. Top with a layer of yellow squash & another of tomatoes sprinkling each with salt & pepper. Top with remaining scallion mix then drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 30 min at 400 degrees or until top is slightly browned. Allow to sit for 10 min then cut into wedges & serve. 4 servings.

Here's the part where I come clean: I didn't follow the recipe exactly because I was lazy. I didn't weigh the squash, tomatoes, etc....I can tell you that I used approximately 1.5 zucchinis, 2 yellow squash zucchinis, about 3 Roma tomatoes, 1 big clove of garlic, and 1 1/2 green onions. Then I mixed the olive oil with the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. I alternated the vegetables in the pan, drizzled the oil-garlic-oregano on top and sprinkled it all with the green onions and feta. My way seemed much easier (maybe it's not). And it was simply amazing. I'm going to continue to eat my vegetables this way....

7 comments:

I made this and it tasted wonderful. I followed the recipe carefully, but, there is no way this could be served in wedges - the vegetables separated from each other as I tried to lift a piece from the pan. Did I do something wrong? Also, there was quite a bit of liquid from the vegetable at the bottom of the pan. But, regardless, as I said, it was a great new way for me to prepare these vegetables.

I'm sorry you had some trouble with the recipe. Cutting it into wedges is verbatim what Dr. Guttersen's recipe said:

http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201106?pg=34#pg34

However, I will say, that you are right! There is NO way that this can be cut into wedges! It should say, 'serve with a spoon' (or slotted spoon in your case).

I did not have any trouble with excess liquid. That depends on the water content in your produce. I would suggest 'salting' the vegetables and laying them on paper towels to absorb the excess liquid before arranging and baking them in this gratin (next time).

Thanks for the feedback--think I may consider adding a note about this.

OH, I hope it works for you, Shara! @Margaret Baham, use your judgement on the salt. Did you salt before and after cooking? If you salt the veggies to draw out the liquid before cooking, you can omit it from the rest of the recipe while layering the vegetables. Good luck! I've had a lot of people try this with success.

Just had this tonight with some grouper (did the "quick" method you outlined at the bottom) and it came out lovely! We, too, had some excess liquid in the bottom of the pan but that's no problem with a slotted spoon. :) Thanks for sharing this!

About Me

Yet another average gal having fun with food. From the corporate world to home. From suburban to urban to country. From amateur to food lover. Finding joy and nourishment with semi-vegetarian and semi-healthy cooking. If Lucy Ricardo lived on Wisteria Lane and shopped at Whole Foods, this would be her blog.